BULK 450 Bushmaster – Hornady Cases

PRODUCT OVERVIEW 450 bushmaster brass

 

The 450 Bushmaster brass was designed as a close range, big bore hunting caliber for the AR-15 platform.  As with most AR cartridge conversions, it only requires swapping out the upper receiver. With the introduction of some new bolt action rifles in this caliber and many states changing game laws allowing straightwall cartridges for deer hunting, the  .450 Bushmaster is enjoying a surge in popularity.  Ruger now offers their American Ranch and Gunsite Scout bolt action rifles chambered in the .450 Bushmaster caliber.  This cartridge utilizes the common .452″ diameter bullet, reloaders can use bullet weights anywhere from 160-350+ grains.

The .450 Bushmaster is a rifle cartridge developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms, and licensed to Bushmaster Firearms International. The .450 Bushmaster is designed to be used in standard M16s and AR-15s, using modified magazines and upper receiver assemblies.

Hornady’s brass cases offers re-loaders excellent uniformity in wall thickness, weight, and internal capacity. The cases allow proper seating of the bullet, not only in the case, but in the chamber as well.

 

The .450 Bushmaster is descended from the Thumper concept popularized by the gun writer Jeff Cooper. Cooper was dissatisfied with the small-diameter 5.56×45mm NATO (.223 Remington) of the AR-15, and envisioned a need for a large bore (.44 cal or greater) cartridge in a semi-automatic rifle to provide one-shot kills on big-game animals at 250 yards. Inspired by this, LeGendre developed his .45 Professional cartridge, and later built and delivered an AR-15 in .45 Professional to Cooper.

Bushmaster requested the ammunition manufacturer Hornady to produce the .45 Professional cartridge for this project, but Hornady wanted to shorten the cartridge case and overall length to accommodate their 0.452 in. 250-grain pointed SST flex-tip bullet. Bushmaster and LeGendre approved the change from a 1.772 in. (45 mm) case and 2.362 in. (60 mm) OAL to the now standard 1.700 in. (43.18 mm) case and 2.260 in. (57.40 mm) OAL. This permitted operation in the more abundant and popular AR-15 platform versus the AR-10 platform. Also, a name change to “.450 Bushmaster” was approved.

 

Loadings and ballistics

The .450 Bushmaster makes use of .452 in. bullets because the lower impact velocities and energies would not adequately expand the heavier jacketed .458 in. bullets. The cartridge is chambered in bolt-action rifles by Ruger, Savage, Mossberg, and Remington, Ruger’s No. 1 single shot rifle, AR-15 rifles, as well as an AR-15 pistol by Franklin Armory.

Ballistically, the .450 Bushmaster has a rather flat trajectory out to 200 yards; if the firearm is zeroed at 150 yards, the user can expect to see a rise of 1.8 inches at 100 yards, zero at 150 yards, and a drop of 4.9 inches at 200 yards.The cartridge fits single-stacked in a standard AR-15 magazine with a single-stack follower. A 10-round AR-15 magazine body yields a four-round  magazine, a 20-round AR-15 magazine body yields a five- to seven-round  magazine, and a 30-round body yields a nine-round  magazine. Hornady, Remington and Federal now manufacture ammunition for the rifle, and Starline manufactures empty brass for handloading.

 

 

Hornady Brass Features:

• Tight Wall Concentricity – Concentricity helps to ensure proper bullet seating in both the case and the chamber of your firearm. Higher concentricity also aids in a uniform release of the bullet on firing, for optimal velocity and accuracy.
• Uniform Case Wall Thickness – Benchrest shooters have long known that uniform case wall thickness is vital to accuracy. We manufacture to extremely tight tolerances to ensure this critical element is as consistent as possible.
• More Reloads per Case – Hornady brass is treated as the foundation for an accurate cartridge, not a commodity. Because they take greater care in its creation, you’ll get more reloads from Hornady brass.
• Consistent Weight and Capacity – Every single Hornady case, regardless of the lot in which it was produced, is virtually identical to other Hornady cases in the same caliber. For you, this means consistent pressures, velocity and accuracy — every time.

 

 

 

The foundation of Hornady® Ammunition. At Hornady,® brass is the foundation for what could be the most memorable shot of your lifetime. Extra time and care is taken in the creation of our cases, producing smaller lots that meet strict quality standards. Our cases offer reloaders excellent uniformity in wall thickness, weight and internal capacity. We measure for consistently tight wall concentricity and even run our cases through a pressure calibration test to ensure uniform case expansion during firing. Our cases allow proper seating of the bullet, not only in the case, but in the chamber as well. High quality brass contributes to consistent charges and pressures.

TIGHT WALL CONCENTRICITY

Concentricity helps to ensure proper bullet seating in both the case and the chamber of your firearm. Higher concentricity also aids in a uniform release of the bullet on firing, for optimal velocity and accuracy.

UNIFORM CASE WALL THICKNESS

Benchrest shooters have long known that uniform case wall thickness is vital to accuracy. We manufacture to extremely tight tolerances to ensure this critical element is as consistent as possible.

MORE RELOADS PER CASE

We treat Hornady brass as the foundation for an accurate cartridge, not a commodity. Because we take greater care in its creation you’ll get more reloads from Hornady brass.

CONSISTENT WEIGHT AND CAPACITY

Every single Hornady case, regardless of the lot in which it was produced, is virtually identical to other Hornady cases in the same caliber. For you, this means consistent pressures, velocity and accuracy — every time.